WHAT DO FRUIT FLIES EAT?

Fruit flies also feed on the skins and stems of fruit, fungi, and the sludge left in drain pipes.

Fruit fly larvae also feed on fermenting and decaying fruit and vegetable matter dripped under your refrigerator or caught in a sponge.

WHAT IS THE LIFECYCLE OF FRUIT FLIES?

Fruit flies go through a complete metamorphosis, which has four stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult.

Fruit flies multiply quickly: at 70°F the life cycle can be completed in two weeks; and at 85°F it is completed in only 8 days.

A mated female will lay approximately 500 eggs in her lifetime.

Eggs hatch in 24 hours and go through three larval instars within four to six days.

Puparium (the hardened exoskeleton of the last larval instar) and pupa stage lasts five to six days.

Newly emerged flies are attracted to light.

After 48 hours, new adult fruit flies become sexually active; and the cycle repeats.

13 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT FRUIT FLIES:

There are over 4,500 species of fruit flies in the world.

The genus Drosophila includes a large number of species of fruit flies, including the Drosophila melanogaster which is considered the most common species of fruit flies found inside buildings.

Fruit flies can be found all over the world, except in Antarctica.

Male fruit flies that are sexually rejected by female fruit flies find consolation in alcohol. Researchers from the University of California proved that male fruit flies prefer alcohol to non-alcohol food after they’ve been rejected by female fruit flies. After rejection, a chemical in the fruit fly’s brain known as neuropeptide F decreases, creating an urge for alcohol just like in humans in similar situations.

Because fruit flies breed easily and quickly, they are the most commonly used insects to study genetic traits and chromosome mapping. The fruit flies’ short lifespan enables scientists to examine changes and mutations that can occur between birth and death.

About 75% of human diseases that are linked to genetic abnormalities can be induced and examined in fruit flies. Fruit flies are used in the study of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, aging, cancer, immunity, alcohol and drug abuse.

Fruit flies can beat their wings 220 times per second.

Fruit flies are excellent fliers. They are able to execute sharp turns and rotate their bodies 90 degrees in just 50 milliseconds.

Each of a fruit fly’s eyes consists of 760 individual lenses.

Two-thirds of a fruit fly's brain is used for seeing.

In order to attract the opposite sex, a male fruit fly will vibrate his wings in such a way as to produce songs, changes the posture of his body, and will even lick the female's body to get her ready to mate.

A female fruit fly will often mate with more than one male and then collect the sperm cells inside her body.